Wednesday in Wyoming -- April 22, 2015

The Oregon Trail -- Part 4

When I think of pioneers heading west, I envision Conestoga wagons, but not all emigrants had enough money to buy the wagons and the oxen to pull them.  Some, most notably Mormon pioneers, pulled handcarts.

Believe it or not, each handcart was designed to hold all the possessions of a family of five. 

 While the contents of many handcarts were simply covered with a blanket, others resembled Conestoga wagons and had canvas tops.

These pictures were taken at the Martin's Cove Mormon Handcart Visitor Center which commemorates not only the entire handcart journey but also the many emigrants who lost their lives at Martin's Cove.  A late start, an early snowstorm and some poor decisions resulted in the deaths of almost a quarter of the 600 people who formed the Edward Martin Handcart Company.